AppleGreen Electric

Les burrows said:
You are quite right of course the only reason I posted that video was apart from you starting this thread about Applegreen that’s the only mention I have ever seen of it which is very strange, now as for Party frocks and strapping heels very nice I’m sure, I always have my big jacket and my flat cap on the back seat just in case LOL I’m joking of course.
Les
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It's not a joke though. In an EV we have a shorter range, so may need to charge more often than an ICE car would have to be refuelled, and we can't simply whack the fuel in and go. We have to hang around. We can sit in the car, but only after we've got soaked wrestling with the charger cables, figuring how to make the charger work, maybe downloading an app, maybe having the charge abort - you know how it goes.

In over 50 years of motoring I have never felt the need to drive in welly boots and an all-enveloping waterproof coat to keep my clothes dry when refuelling in bad weather. That is obviously going to have to change. I don't think it's reasonable to keep constructing new EV charging stations like this. They're so exposed that even carrying a waterproof coat and boots in the car isn't going to be sufficient, because by the time you've got out and put them on you'll be soaked.

Where is my old all-in-one nylon motorcycling suit? I can see I'm going to have to resurrect it and drive in it if I anticipate having to charge at a public charger in bad weather.
 
Rolfe said:
It's not a joke though. In an EV we have a shorter range, so may need to charge more often than an ICE car would have to be refuelled, and we can't simply whack the fuel in and go. We have to hang around. We can sit in the car, but only after we've got soaked wrestling with the charger cables, figuring how to make the charger work, maybe downloading an app, maybe having the charge abort - you know how it goes.

In over 50 years of motoring I have never felt the need to drive in welly boots and an all-enveloping waterproof coat to keep my clothes dry when refuelling in bad weather. That is obviously going to have to change. I don't think it's reasonable to keep constructing new EV charging stations like this. They're so exposed that even carrying a waterproof coat and boots in the car isn't going to be sufficient, because by the time you've got out and put them on you'll be soaked.

Where is my old all-in-one nylon motorcycling suit? I can see I'm going to have to resurrect it and drive in it if I anticipate having to charge at a public charger in bad weather.
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NIO have partly solved this problem with their battery swap stations (see Bjorn's 1,000km challenge), which if ALL manufacturers agreed on a standard could be a really good service model for the future.

Another way around the problem is contactless charging, which again would require an industry standard (never gonna happen).

The easiest solution would be to build a bloody canopy you cheapskates and put some solar panels on the top whilst you're at it. :) (Mini rant over)
 
I don't think battery swap is ever going to be a thing. Too many different battery types. But even so, are you suggesting batteries could be swapped out in the open air?

Would contactless charging mean you didn't have to get out of your car at all? Somehow, I doubt it.

Canopies (for people as well as the hardware), lights, and solar panels. Absolutely.
 
Rolfe said:
Thanks for that. I should probably give up on ZapMap.
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Zapmap is generally fine for locating charging locations, with an exception of Applegreen (are there more exceptions ?) it seems but the data they have regarding availability is very unreliable.
Always handy to a plan B app though. :)
 
They are also wrong about prices. The type 2 connectors in Cambridge Street car park in Glasgow are shown as being free but ChargePlace Scotland show them as 40p/unit.
 
Rolfe said:
Wow, Plugshare is SO much better, thank you! (I googled it, and when I opened the page I was already logged in with my name and the make and model of my car. Some alchemy at work here.)
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I've just been playing with Plugshare this afternoon, and I've got to say it's improved a lot since I last tried it. Initially it was a bit rough and ready, but they've put some polish on it.

I planned a route on my laptop to Huonslow West Underground Station which I will be doing on Monday, with a stop at The Charge Yard in Slough (a proper mini hub with canopies). I then saved the route on the laptop.

In the car, I selected Plugshare in Android Auto and allowed permission on my phone for it to use the app. I selected the saved journey and it came up in Google Maps, complete with the satellite view I prefer. Awesome! :)
 
Zap map aren't all there cracked up to be. I've said this in other posts. Plug share are much more comprehensive. Applegreen (good or bad) are shown on plugshare.
 
Someone else said that and I switched to Plugshare, which indeed seemed a lot better, but then I couldn't see any indication as to whether the chargers were currently occupied or not, which ZapMap does give.
 
Like Rolfe I stumbled across Apple Green at Gretna - but at the end of March when they were already working. As I have previously queued at Gretna for 30 mins+ for the Ionity chargers I was very pleased to see the extra 6 (x2 connectors). I also fumbled to get these going - it was wet and very dark and there was minimal lighting - to reinforce the points made by other members.

Price was high 79p/kWh. But I was glad to get my first charge of a 1,272 mile trip.

Apple Green are on Watts Up - which I prefer for motorway journeys.
Apple Green Gretna.jpeg
 
I tried to connect to the Applegreen chargers at Abington on Thursday 11th may with no success. I phoned the help line and the chap said that there must be a problem with my card - there wasn’t as I connected to the other charge point ok. There were other people who also failed to connect when I was there.

I tried to connect there again on Sunday 14th and so did at least 3 other people. All failed. I then had a nervy drive to Dumfries as the many charge points in Moffat had not been commissioned!
 
I tried to download the Applegreen Electric app this weekend , but Google Play said it's not available in my country . Did they mean Wales or the UK ?;)
 
senwick rat said:
I tried to connect to the Applegreen chargers at Abington on Thursday 11th may with no success. I phoned the help line and the chap said that there must be a problem with my card - there wasn’t as I connected to the other charge point ok. There were other people who also failed to connect when I was there.

I tried to connect there again on Sunday 14th and so did at least 3 other people. All failed. I then had a nervy drive to Dumfries as the many charge points in Moffat had not been commissioned!
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That's a bit of a worry. The one at Gretna didn't have a problem with my card, indeed it managed to freeze up £90 in pre-authorisation charges in my bank account for several days. Its problem seemed to be with my car, which it complained "did something unexpected". Never seen that message anywhere else.

I saw other people apparently charging OK on them at both Gretna and Abington, but I think I'm going to avoid them in future if I can.

I saw some Gridserve chargers at Abington too, were you not able to try one of these?
 
Les burrows said:
Well if you watch this video almost at the end 17:03 into it he talks about applegreen charging and as I said #2 they are all over the UK and parts of the USA even shows the map that I found on the google search I did but was unable to copy.
Les

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This is the same Dave who said one of shells chargers were exceedingly expensive, whilst showing an osprey unit's roaming price with the shell card :-/ (Ok so it's shells crappy webmap showing the non shell chargers but still)
 
Zap-Map require a subscription for you to see new chargers now. I think there is a 6 week delay which I find irritating. Haven’t enjoyed the site for some time now!
 
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